What can be said about the Andrew MacWilliam? He’s certainly a prospect in the Leafs organization. He’s a left-handed shot. He’s not one that garnered a lot of attention over the past five years he’s been kicking around the Leafs system (a rare Cliff Fletcher draftee), but he’s one prospect that I think we might be hearing a fair bit about in the next year.

MacWilliam is following the Matt Frattin road to the pros (minus the lawnmower throwing). He’s an Albertan kid who committed himself to the University of North Dakota (possibly after hearing how great the Grand Forks Olive Garden is). After a full stint at the school MacWilliam was good enough to have his name muttered in early Hobey Baker talk before that fizzled out and the reality that defensive defensemen don’t win MVP awards set in. MacWilliam served as team captain during his senior year in North Dakota, which I’m sure had the Leafs senior leadership team buckling at the knees.

The thing that has me concerned about MacWilliam is that his college career has been spent on WCHA powerhouse team. How much of his success is due to his supporting cast. Steve Dangle asked Joe Meloni of the College Hockey News who confirmed that “he (MacWilliam) was a very good player on a very good team.” That quells some of the fears that Derrek Forbort, Jordan Schmaltz, and Dillon Simpson might have sheltered MacWilliam.

"He played at North Dakota, he played four years and was the Captain at North Dakota last year. This is a big, imposing physical player. He's a good first pass guy. He is mean and it's natural. He's very competitive. He's got the right mentality, he's got a pro mentality. He's got some force when he hits. His puck skills have really improved over the last four years; he can move the puck efficiently. He's got the mental makeup that is going to take him a long way in this sport. He'll be fun to watch and we'll see what he does at the AHL level, but this is a big, physical player. He might be a lot like Mark Fraser down the road; a big, physical, left-shot D, a #5 guy who brings a physical presence to the team. He'll be another one of those guys who comes in, plays solid minutes, gets some AHL experience, but he certainly has the mentality and the makeup."

So what we know about MacWilliam is this: He’s big, he likes to hit, he sees time on the penalty kill, he has no business wandering into the offensive zone, he’s basically Mark Fraser with less punching (I’m assuming less punching, but it’s hard to tell with players coming out of the NCAA).

This all leads me to believe that MacWilliam will be a blue collar favourite in the Leafs organization very soon. Given his age (23) and his experience playing against older competition I wouldn’t be surprised if MacWilliam is on a faster track to spot duty in the NHL but with much lower expectations than the rest of the prospect pool.

Despite MacWilliam being ranked 19th I am comfortable betting on MacWilliam getting a taste of the NHL by late this season. His defensive defenseman role and age will get him a look and since you’re not too worried about limiting his potential you don’t care if he’s parked in the press box for a week or if he plays eight minutes a night. MacWilliam likely tops out as a reserve defenseman and as a potential future captain of the Marlies. I’d conveniently dump him into the Jamie Sifers, Jay Harrison, Phil Oreskovic level of prospect where you’re happy that when you’re on your third defensive call-up you feel comfortable that you’re advancing towards your lottery pick with dignity. Basically he’s a couple of steps ahead of Andy Wozniewski.

Andrew MacWilliam is a short term, low risk prospect who buys the organization a bit of time while the blue chips develop and MacWilliam will meet all of my expectations if he keeps Korbinian Holzer out of the Leafs lineup. With the Marlies focusing on development, and the Leafs only having 14 defensemen on one way contracts (assuming Franson re-signs) there will be plenty of space for MacWilliam on the Marlies roster and it seems unlikely that he will need to spend time in Orlando.

This is an interesting contrast, because we had MacWilliam almost at the bottom of our list for many of the same reasons.

He's older than most of the other Leaf prospects and he's limited offensively.

The idea that he'll jump from the NCAA to the AHL and immediately be a better option than Korbinian Holzer, who now is in his 5th season in the AHL, strikes me as odd. If MacWilliam becomes what we think he'll be, he basically becomes Holzer.

That also doesn't take into account that Jesse Blacker is still with the Marlies and should be taking on a bigger role this year, and Stuart Percy and Petter Granberg join the Marlies this year as well.

My feeling is MacWilliam will be a third-pairing guy for the Marlies this season, or shuttled down to Orlando.

He might be quite useful as a future captain of the Marlies. He might be ok as an injury call up or 7th defenseman in a few years. Perhaps he could replace if Mark Fraser, if Fraser becomes too expensive.

I don't have a problem with the quote, per se (Although a guy who had 4 goals in 4 NCAA seasons is a curious definition of "blue chipper").

But the idea that he's already strong enough to surpass Holzer on the depth chart is something I can't agree with. Holzer wasn't nearly good enough to be given the role he briefly had in the NHL, but I struggle to see how MacWilliam is already there in his development wihtout playing a single game as a pro.

The other thing is, Granberg is a similar player, but is younger than Holzer and MacWilliam, and the Leafs appear high on him too.

In this article Dave Morrisson suggests Granberg could jump straight to the NHL. Now I don't think that happens given the Leafs logjam at the NHL, but I've got to think a guy that's younger and played 2 seasons in Sweden's top league, and against NHL players in international play, is ahead of an NCAA defenceman in the depth chart.

Don Cherry would be proud of this list so far. I had MacWilliam lower on my list.

But I understand the attraction with him as not only leaf fans but leaf management think that big hits, intimidation and grit should force turnovers and prevent scoring chances. The leafs management seems to have entirely bought into the Randy Carlyle School of Hockey.

This is an interesting contrast, because we had MacWilliam almost at the bottom of our list for many of the same reasons.

He's older than most of the other Leaf prospects and he's limited offensively.

The idea that he'll jump from the NCAA to the AHL and immediately be a better option than Korbinian Holzer, who now is in his 5th season in the AHL, strikes me as odd. If MacWilliam becomes what we think he'll be, he basically becomes Holzer.

That also doesn't take into account that Jesse Blacker is still with the Marlies and should be taking on a bigger role this year, and Stuart Percy and Petter Granberg join the Marlies this year as well.

My feeling is MacWilliam will be a third-pairing guy for the Marlies this season, or shuttled down to Orlando.

Leafs management seems really high on him.
Can't remember exactly who said it and when, but someone in the Leafs brass referred to MacWilliam's as a 'blue chipper' and offered his name up when the topic of conversation was the Leafs' impact prospects.

"There’s one guy you are missing who is a little bit of a blue chip. Andrew MacWilliam. He played at North Dakota, he played four years and was the Captain at North Dakota last year. This is a big, imposing physical player. He’s a good first pass guy. He is mean and it’s natural. He’s very competitive. He’s got the right mentality, he’s got a pro mentality. He’s got some force when he hits. His puck skills have really improved over the last four years; he can move the puck efficiently. He’s got the mental makeup that is going to take him a long way in this sport..."

I think MacWilliam falls into the low risk/low reward category. He's a guy who will get the occasional call up, but is primarily going to play out his career in the AHL. I can't speak for everyone who voted for him, but I ranked him where I did because it's a safe bet that the organization sees value in him.

I booked Andrew MacWilliam for an interview back in 2008 when I was writing for Gino Reda's junior hockey radio show. It's at the 17:40 mark, if commenters are interested. http://images.theglobeandmail.com/v5/content/globesports/juniorHockeyRadio/2008-09/20081017.mp3

Gauthier Could be our best prospect, he already has good size, if he can develop more skill and improve his skating, we could have a potential Top Six player. If he is a Bust, Habs fans will say we choose him so he wouldn't fall to them.

Not me posting at 07:16 tonight, I have been a Leafs and Habs fan for years, PS Reports coming out after tonights Blown doubleheader vs the Yankees by our Blue Jays that we are getting funds from New York to lay down in games if New York is still in the race.

Don Cherry would be proud of this list so far. I had MacWilliam lower on my list.

But I understand the attraction with him as not only leaf fans but leaf management think that big hits, intimidation and grit should force turnovers and prevent scoring chances. The leafs management seems to have entirely bought into the Randy Carlyle School of Hockey.

I'm not so sure Don Cherry would be proud of a list that just ranked two of the Leafs' most aggressive, physical, mean, and face-punchy prospects at the BOTTOM.